The present invention relates to a component mounting structure for temporarily fastening a small component such as an assist grip of an automobile to a large component such as large interior or exterior component of the automobile, and also relates to a component mounting method for permanently fixing these temporarily-fastened components to a panel, such as a vehicle body.
In a conventional method for permanently fixing a small component such as an assist grip and a large component such as a head-lining of the automobile to a panel such as a vehicle body, the large component and small component are separately supplied to an automobile assembling line and then are fastened individually to the panel on the assembling line. Accordingly, it is necessary to prepare individual separate storing areas for the large and small components near the assembling line. Further, this separate fastening causes a necessity of changing fastening tools and results in a disadvantage of a deteriorated working efficiency. Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-50805 discloses a component mounting structure in which a temporary fastening clip is attached beforehand to a vehicle body and a welded bolt of an exterior component is inserted into the temporary fastening clip to temporarily fasten the exterior component thereto. Although this structure makes it easy to fasten an exterior component, it does not solve the problems described above in fixing the large and small components to the vehicle body. Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-155719 discloses another component mounting structure for fixing a component to a base body by employing a bracket having a function as a spacer to provide a certain space between the base body and the component to be fixed thereto. The component mounting structure described in this publication, however, also does not solve the problems described above in fastening a large component and a small component to a vehicle body. Further, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-96533 discloses a collar which allows a flexible sheet member to be fastened to a panel placing a certain distance between the panel and a component to be fastened when the flexible sheet member is to be sandwiched between the panel and the component to be fastened. The collar described in this publication, however, also does not solve the problems described above.
According to the present invention, since a large component and a small component in a temporary fastening condition together with a screw component are transported and supplied to an automobile assembling line, it is unnecessary to prepare individual separate storing areas for the large and small components near the automobile assembling line and further the necessity of changing fastening tools in case of separate fastening is eliminated and thereby the working efficiency is improved. Further, when this component mounting structure for temporary fastening is employed, the large and small components can be firmly fixed to the panel only by implementing the simple steps of placing this component mounting structure on the panel, aligning the front end of the screw component with the fixing hole of the panel, and screwing the screw component around the centerline thereof into the nut provided on the panel, and thereby the permanent fixing operation can be made quite simple.
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a component mounting structure in which a small component such as an assist grip is temporarily fastened beforehand to a large component such as a head-lining of an automobile and a set of the temporarily-fastened large and small components is transported and supplied to an automobile assembling line so that the components can be permanently fixed to a panel such as a vehicle body.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a component mounting method in which the component fastening structure described above is employed so that a temporarily-fastened large and small components may be transported and supplied to an automobile assembling line and then permanently fixed to a panel such as a vehicle body.
The object of the present invention described above can be achieved by a component mounting structure for temporarily fastening a small component such as an assist grip to a large component such as a large interior or exterior component of an automobile, in which a fastening hole of the small component is aligned with a fastening hole of the large component and the small component is temporarily fastened to the large component by inserting a clip into both the fastening holes; the clip comprises a first engagement portion to be brought into surface-contact with the large component, a shank extending from the first engagement portion, and a second engagement portion integrally formed on the shank so as to be engaged with the small component, wherein the first engagement portion, the shank, and the second engagement portion of the clip are formed to have a hollow portion so that a screw component can axially be inserted therein; and the screw component is inserted and held in the clip in the temporary fastening condition. This structure allows the large and small components in a temporary fastening condition to be transported and supplied to an automobile assembling line and to be directly and permanently fixed as a unit to a vehicle body.
According to a preferable aspect of the present invention, the screw component is inserted into the shank of the clip from the second engagement portion toward the first engagement portion, and preferably a front end of the screw component extending out beyond the first engagement portion is at least partially covered by a protruding piece extending from the shank to prevent the front end of the screw component from being exposed. This structure eliminates the possibility that the front end of the screw component might cause a damage to others. Further, it is preferable that the protruding piece is composed of a plurality of thin pieces each being arranged at an equal space along an outer circumference of the shank for receiving the screw component, extending axially from the shank and being curved at the front end portion toward the centerline of the shank so that the protruding pieces as a whole may form a tapered front end. This structure makes it easy to find a fixing hole of a panel. Further it is preferable that the first engaging portion is a flange formed on one end of the shank and the second engaging portion is a pair of engaging pieces arranged on the other end of the shank so as to be capable of being deflected toward the centerline of the shank when the clip is being inserted into the fastening hole. Besides these, it is also preferable that the first engaging portion is an elongated plate member extending from one end of the shank of a clip in a right angle with respect to the axial direction of the shank; the elongated plate member has another clip formed integrally therewith connected at an end of a shank thereof extending in a right angle with respect to the elongated plate member, each clip being spaced by a predetermined distance from the other; and the second engagement portion of each clip is formed on the other end of each shank as a pair of engagement pieces which can be deflected toward the centerline of the shank when the clip is being inserted into the fastening hole. The elongated plate member may be used as a member for defining a distance between fastening portions of the assist grip. Further, the plate member may be an impact-absorbing component.
Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a component mounting method for permanently fixing the large and small components to a panel such as a vehicle body using the component mounting structure defined by claim 1, the method comprising the steps of: placing on the panel the temporarily fastened large and small components including the clip and the screw components according to claim 1; aligning the front end of the screw component held in the clip shank with the fastening hole of the panel; and firmly fixing the large and small components to the panel by screwing the screw component around the centerline thereof into a nut provided on the panel. This method makes the permanent fixing operation quite simple.